Book Review

摘要

The origin of organismal form and structure is an important topic in evolutionary biology. Yet, relatively few studies are devoted to it. The study of evolutionary novelties is usually limited to the documentation of their phylogenetic distribution and the analysis of their value as synapomorphies in the construction of phylogenetic trees or, in evolutionary morphology, to the comparative analysis of the relationship between form and function. Most studies on evolutionary processes concentrate on the modification or maintenance of existing forms and structures.